Rose Goes Back-To-Back

Mark Rose

February 19, 2017
by Rob Newell

In the 20-year history of the FLW Tour, there has never been a back-to-back winner in a single season. There have been pros who have won multiple events in a season. And there have been pros who have won on the same lake in back-to-back seasons. But never has an FLW Tour pro won two consecutive events in a season.

That all changed Sunday when Mark Rose, fresh off his Tour win at Guntersville, raised the winner’s trophy at the FLW Tour presented by Quaker State on Lake Travis. The historic win made Rose the first back-to-back winner in FLW Tour history.

However, Rose had to earn that record the hard way. For the second time in three weeks, Rose fought off a hard charge from Bryan Thrift in what has become an ongoing heavyweight bout between two of the Tour’s most decorated stars.

On the final day at Guntersville, Thrift entered the day in second place, and methodically tracked Rose all day, closing in on him by the hour. And just when it looked like Thrift had Rose down for the count, Rose thwarted Thrift’s victory charge with a last-minute 6-pounder to win by just 15 ounces.

Sunday, the roles were reversed. Rose entered the day in second place by just a pound and was the one who had to close in on Thrift. And right when it looked like Rose had Thrift in his sights, Thrift tried to give Rose a taste of his own medicine by catching a 5-pounder in the last hour in an attempt to hold off Rose.

In the end, however, Thrift’s final push was once again just a little light, this time just 12 ounces short of victory.

“I’m blown away right now,” Rose said after accepting the trophy. “I’m speechless. I consider Bryan to be the best angler on the planet. He is what pushes me every day to be a better angler. This kind of competition at the top of the game is what this sport is all about. I don’t even know what to say right now except that God is good.”

With his back-to-back wins, Rose has also broken his reputation of being a Tennessee Valley-only winner. All of his previous Tour wins have been along the Tennessee River. This one, however, marks his first win away from his favorite river basin, proving he is a far more diverse angler than just being a summertime “ledgemaster.”

But in order to pull off this win, Rose did have to resort to his comfort zone – offshore structure in depths ranging from 18 to 50 feet.

Ironically, Rose started the event far up the Colorado River, cranking shallow river banks to the tune of 11 pounds, 9 ounces. He had practiced offshore but couldn’t get anything going, so he resorted to the river.

“I had some good bites up that river in practice, so that’s where I went the first day,” Rose says. “I spent most of the day up there and didn’t do very well. Late in the day I was running back down the lake, stopped on an offshore place and caught a 4-pounder and that right there told me what I needed to be doing the rest of the tournament.”

On day two, Rose returned to his offshore wheelhouse.

“I started doing what I should have been doing the first day – fishing out – way out,” Rose says. “I started fishing those big flat points on the lower end. At first I was trying to fish up on top of them, dragging a jig across the tops in about 18 feet of water. I caught a few that way, but every time I eased up there to cast up on the points, I could see big arches on my graph on those 25-to-45-foot breaks. So I backed out some more and started dragging that Strike King Tour Grade Football Jig down those deeper breaks – what I called stair-step ledges – that fall off those points. I caught some fish as deep as 50 feet here this week. I even dropped down from 17 to 15-pound Seagaur Tatsu to decrease the line resistance at those extreme depths.”

One of his key spots ended up being the giant point and boat ramp at Mansfield Park near the dam. The huge ramp runs far down into the lake ending at a big break grown up with trees.

With his commitment to offshore stair-step breaks on day two, Rose got traction and began climbing the leaderboard with a 17-3 catch that jumped him up to fifth place.

On the morning of day three, Rose tied on a big 6-inch swimbait fastened to a 1-ounce Strike King Squadron Head to see if he could entice those suspended bass by winding the big swimmer over the top of them. His first cast with the swimbait produced a 6-pounder.

“I never got a bite on it the rest of the day,” Rose says. “But that one bite told me those suspended fish were feeding on bait first thing in the morning.”

Rose’s day three catch of 15-13 put him in second, within one pound of catching Thrift.

Rose started the final day with the swimbait and fooled three quality bass on it before the swimbait window closed, but the three fish got his day off to a good start.

On days three and four, Rose also pitched a few docks in the afternoons with a Strike King Rage Bug to make a few small culls that ended up being huge in the end. On Sunday, two of those culls may have given him the precious ounces he needed to hold off Thrift with a 14-pound, 9-ounce catch, for a four-day total of 59 pounds, 2 ounces.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is fish for a living,” Rose says. “So it’s a huge honor to be the first pro in FLW Tour history to win back-to-back. The Guntersville and Travis trophies will always be side-by-side at home for that special reason.”

Laufenberg Claims Mighty Miss Title

Cade Laufenberg of Goodview, Minnesota, won Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division opener on the Mississippi River at La Crosse presented by Navionics with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces. For his day on the water, Laufenberg pocketed $4,355. READ MORE »

May 21, 2019

Chico Wins on Clear

The Chico State University duo of Carson Leber of Dixon, California, and Chad Sweitzer of Chico, California, won the YETI FLW College Fishing event on Clear Lake presented by Costa Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces. The victory earned the Wildcats’ bass club $2,000 and a slot in the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship. READ MORE »

Burger Smashes 23-9 on Chesapeake Bay

Jason Burger of Bridgeton, New Jersey, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Northeast Division opener on the Chesapeake Bay presented by Navionics Saturday with five bass weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces. For his efforts, Burger pocketed $4,000. READ MORE »

May 21, 2019

Boehle Runs Shad Spawn, Points for W

Adam Boehle of Warrenton, Missouri, caught five bass Saturday weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on Lake of the Ozarks. Boehle pocketed $4,938 for his win in the event presented by Navionics and 250 points in the Ozark Division presented by Bassing Bob standings. The winner of the division’s Angler of the Year title after five tournaments will win $3,000. READ MORE »

Lake County Drops 23-9 on Clear Lake

The Lake County High School Fishing Club duo of Cooper Goff and Nathan Phillips, both of Kelseyville, California, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces to win the 2019 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Clear Lake Open. READ MORE »

May 18, 2019

Grover Grabs Clear Lake Title

Clear Lake is always a fun place to fish, but wind, rain and cooler temperatures made things tough for the second stop of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Ranger Boats, and the famed fishery wasn't as kind as it can be with many pros struggling as the week went on. Kyle Grover, on the other hand, only got better as the tournament progressed. READ MORE »

May 17, 2019

Top 5 Patterns from Clear Lake Day 2

Drop-shotting tules was the main pattern for Uribe and knowing how to reach the fish made all the difference. Adjusting to the conditions was definitely key on day two, and no doubt the rest of the top pros had to go with the flow to stay in sight of the title. READ MORE »

May 17, 2019

Uribe in Charge on Clear Lake

When weather woes nixed Joe Uribe Jr.’s initial objective, the resilient angler from Surprise, Ariz., refocused his effort and sacked up a limit of 19 pounds, 5 ounces to take over the lead on day two of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Ranger Boats and hosted by Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina with a total weight of 41-13. READ MORE »

May 17, 2019

Clear Lake Midday Update – Day 2

Clear Lake was in a foul, foul mood this morning for the second day’s launch of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event, which is presented by Ranger Boats and hosted by Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina. Absent was the drizzly rain of yesterday, but the tradeoff was a 15- to 20-mph northwest wind that turned the lake into a washing machine. READ MORE »

May 16, 2019

Top 5 Patterns from Clear Lake Day 1

Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Ore., benefitted from a double dose of Clear Lake kickers when he found the right set of docks in a major spawning bay. Finesse baits did the trick up shallow for the day one leader at the Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Ranger Boats. Other slow presentations served his brief offshore work. Handling the day’s weather challenges was a big part of Olson’s success. Here are the details of the rest of the top five. READ MORE »

May 16, 2019

Olson Out in Front at Clear Lake

Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Ore., was able to separate himself from the pack on day one of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event presented by Ranger Boats with a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds. One of four anglers to crack 20 pounds, Olson leads second-place pro Joe Uribe Jr. by 2 1/2 pounds. The rest of the top 20 are packed together with just a few pounds separating them. READ MORE »

May 16, 2019

Clear Lake Midday Update – Day 1

The weather system pushing through northern California brought dreary, drizzly conditions interspersed with occasional steady spells of light rain for day one of the Costa FLW Series Western Division event, which is presented by ranger Boats and hosted by Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina. The sun made only a few peeking appearances, but there were several bright spots in the morning’s activity. READ MORE »

May 14, 2019

South Laurel Wins KHSAA Championship on Kentucky

The South Laurel High School team of Shawn Coots and Trent Keltner weighed 19 pounds, 9 ounces on day one and 13-4 on day two for a 32-13 total and the win in the 2019 Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) State Bass Fishing Championship on Kentucky Lake. READ MORE »

May 14, 2019

Manson Nets Third Win

Scott Manson of Covington, Ohio, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces, to take top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division opener on Grand Lake-St. Mary’s presented by Navionics. For his efforts, Manson netted $4,046. READ MORE »

May 14, 2019

Herron, Rutland tie on Lay Lake

Dusty Herron of Alabaster, Alabama, and Chris Rutland of Wetumpka, Alabama, each caught five bass Saturday weighing 16 pounds even to tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division tournament on Lay Lake. After contingency awards, Rutland earned $3,435, while Herron took home $2,435. READ MORE »